Transport device for conveying motor vehicles in buildings

ABSTRACT

Driverless motor vehicles are conveyed to unoccupied parking spaces in a building by a transport system comprising at least two trackless transport elements and, for each motor vehicle, four detachable wheel support elements on the parking space and the two transport elements, on which wheel support elements the vehicle remains during parking in the parking space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a transport device for conveying automotivevehicles in a building, as well as to a method for garaging automotivevehicles.

In principal, different garaging systems for driverless vehicles can bedifferentiated, namely, those wherein the vehicles are transported onpallets by the transport means and are parked with the pallets and thosewherein the vehicles are unloaded from the transport means and are putdown without a base onto the parking places.

Both systems are subject to spatial limitations: If the vehicles remainon the pallets, each pallet must be configured for the largest vehicleto be garaged, so that with the large number of smaller vehicles,parking space is wasted. In addition, a pallet is required for eachparking place, so that the expenditure in terms of equipment for such agarage is very high (for example, WO-A 87/0240).

If the vehicle is parked without pallets (for example according to EP-A563 664), it becomes necessary to remove it from the transport means atthe parking place, and respectively, when the vehicle is collected tore-load it onto the transport means. In addition, the transport meansmust be low enough to be removable from beneath the vehicle lowered ontothe floor of the parking space, and, when tire damage occurs, can beinserted at the time of collection under a car which has sunk down evenlower. The vehicles must be raised, wherein, as no lifting means isavailable at the parking places, such a means must be provided on thetransport means.

The problems outlined are reduced when the parking level of the vehicleis above the floor of the garage, on which the transport means aremoving. Nevertheless, additional means are necessary in the building forproducing the parking level (for example, according to WO-A 92/03629 orWO-A 92/10628) and the height is increased considerably.

For pallet-free transport of the automotive vehicle, the transport meansare provided with horizontally pivotable arms which grasp and lift upeach wheel of the vehicle. The transport means must suit the differentwheelbases of different vehicles. With respect to this, it has alreadybeen proposed in DE-C 38 20 891 or DE-C 39 09 702 to divide thetransport means into two independent units. The transport means aretrack bound and can therefore go under the vehicle in only onedirection, whereupon in the correct position the arms are pivoted out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide an improved garaging system inwhich both the constructional expenditure with respect to the buildingand the expenditure on equipment are kept as low as possible.

This is achieved in that the transport device is provided with at leastone, in particular trackless, transport element, and for each automotivevehicle at least two supporting elements separable from the transportelement at the parking place. A transport device is consequentlycomposed of several parts, of which the supporting elements alwaysremain with the automotive vehicle, while the substantially lessernumber of transport elements are used only during transport to and fromthe parking place. After parking the vehicle together with itssupporting elements, the transport elements are free again and can beused for the transportation of other vehicles. Hereinafter, the termtransport means will be used for any conveying means required for anautomotive vehicle, which is composed of one of two transport elementsand two or four supporting elements, wherein, however, although thetransport means is provided with supporting elements adjustable for anyvehicle, it has substantially fewer transport elements in total. Thespace requirement on the parking area is derived from the size, inparticular the length, of the automotive vehicle. The parking place hasno pre-determined limit, but instead the spacings are pre-determinedregardless of the size of the automotive vehicles. Each automotivevehicle always follows the one standing in front of it or adjacent toit, preferably with a maximum spacing of 10 cm. By virtue of thedivision of the supporting elements, the dimensions of the transportelements are reduced such that they can move underneath the parkedvehicles. In this way the occupation density of the parking area can beincreased significantly.

In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the supporting element isprovided with at least one pendent segment which can engage under therising transport element. In this way, a minimum height of the transportmeans can be achieved, as lifting of the vehicle wheels by, for example,1 or 2 cm is sufficient for transportation and the pendent segment ishigher than the wheel supporting surface on the supporting elements. Thependent segment can, for example, form a bridge between the wheelsupporting elements provided with the wheel supporting surfaces, whereinthe transport element can go under the bridge piece after parking of theautomotive vehicle on the supporting elements. On each supportingelement a front, rear or side pair of automotive vehicle wheels is setdown. The mobility of the transport means can be further increased in apreferred embodiment when in each case two wheel supporting elements, inparticular the two wheel supporting elements of each vehicle axle, canbe connected to a separate transport element. Consequently, thetransport means for a vehicle is composed of two transport elementsindependent of one another, each of which is provided with two removablewheel supporting elements. In this embodiment, a pendent segment isprovided on each wheel supporting element. The length and width of thistransport element are also preferably selected such that it can alsomove between two transport elements transporting an automotive vehicle,the distance apart of which is independent of the wheelbase of thevehicle to be transported.

When a separate wheel supporting element is provided for each wheel, astore of wheel supporting elements corresponding to the maximumoccupation of the parking area can be kept stacked in a space-savingmanner.

Transport elements are even smaller when they are each connected to onlyone wheel supporting element, so that the automotive vehicle is conveyedby four transport elements independent of one another, however the useof one or two transport elements per two axle automotive vehicle shouldbe provided from the point of view of expenditure on technology.

The necessary retention of the wheel in the wheel supporting element ispreferably obtained in that it is provided with a supporting trough. Inorder to facilitate entering and exiting, a height adjustable centralarea is preferably provided on the supporting trough, so that the troughcan be filled up at least when exiting. This can take place, forexample, in that the wheel supporting elements in the exit area, andrespectively in the entrance area, can be lowered onto blocks projectingfrom the floor which raise the central area of the trough.

The transport element according to the invention is preferably providedwith a frame which can be connected to at least one wheel supportingelement, and is arranged on a chassis moveable in at least twodirections. By combining the two directions, any desired movement of thetransport element and of the transport means can be put together. In afurther embodiment it is provided that the chassis is also moveable inat least one arc of a circle, so that the transport means can berotated, for example, by 90°. Further, it is advantageous when thechassis is provided with at least two wheels which can each be turned byat least 90°. Preferably, the chassis is composed of at least fourwheels which can be turned by at least 90°. The chassis is in particularelectrically driven, and can be fitted with preferably replaceableaccumulators for this purpose. Preferably at least two turning wheelsare driven, wherein single motors or a common drive motor can beprovided for the driving. In a further embodiment, the turning wheelscan also be provided with a common rotary drive.

For connection to the supporting, and respectively, to the wheelsupporting elements, the transport elements are provided with connectingelements which are height-adjustable relative to the wheels. The liftingdrive provided for this in the transport element is preferably providedwith a hydraulic unit acting horizontally in the transport element, anda traction mechanism converting the horizontal movement into a verticalmovement, which is guided by means of at least one guide roller and isconnected to the connecting element. In addition, preferably, the frameof the transport element is then also raised, from which the connectingelements project outwards. A chain, a cable or the like can be used as atraction mechanism. Naturally, instead of the hydraulic lifting drive,another lifting drive is possible, for example an electric spindle driveand so forth. In order to be able to make the transport elements assmall as possible, it is further preferably provided that theheight-adjustable connecting elements can be pushed horizontally out ofthe transport element.

Hereinafter, the invention will be described in more detail withreference to the attached drawings, without being limited thereto:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

There is shown, in

FIG. 1 a parking level or a garage with important parts of the transportdevice,

FIG. 2 a view of a transport means in the receiving or parking position,

FIG. 3 a schematic vertical section through the transport means, whereinthe right-hand half shows the transporting position,

FIG. 4 a view of the transport means in the unloading position,

FIG. 5 a horizontal section through a transport element,

FIG. 6 a plan view of a steerable wheel of the chassis,

FIG. 7 a side view of a steerable wheel, and

FIG. 8 a section according to line VIII--VIII of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A building 1 for accommodating automotive vehicles, in particular agarage or a store, is provided with at least one parking level. Withineach floor level there are neither pillars nor separating walls, so thatthe size of each parking place 2 is always matched to the automotivevehicle parked there. As shown, parking lines of different widths areproduced when vehicles of different widths are parked, and the number ofparking places along the length of the parking area is also variable.The length and width of the parking area are selected such that asvariable as possible a division is possible without large wastage ofspace. The parking area shown in FIG. 1 has, for example, a length of22.5 m, and a width of 8 m. The automotive vehicles 6 are parked quiteclosely to one another, regardless of their size, wherein in particulara safety gap of a maximum 10 cm is maintained longitudinally. Ahand-over or collection station, or in the preferred case of a buildingwith several levels, a lift, is labelled 5. In order to obtain as rapidaccess as possible to each parked automotive vehicle 6 when there is thedense arrangement of the automotive vehicles 6 shown, or in order toalso be able to transport a newly arrived automotive vehicle 6 to aparking place 2 not directly accessible, the transport device must beprovided with transport means, the transport elements of which can alsomove in all directions possible underneath the parked automotivevehicles 6, and are capable of loading and unloading the automotivevehicle 6 at the respective parking place.

For this purpose, a transport means is composed of at least onetransport element 3, and at least two supporting elements for the wheelsof the automotive vehicle 6, separable from the transport element 3.Preferably one transport element 3 and two separable wheel supportingelements 4 are provided per vehicle axle, that is to say each normalpassenger vehicle 6 is transported by two individual independenttransport elements 3, on which four individual wheel supporting elements4 are provided, on which the vehicle parked in the parking place 2remains. The empty transport elements 3 are therefore short and narrowenough to move underneath the parked vehicles 6 and can also cross atransport means transporting a vehicle 6, as is shown in FIG. 1. Thetransport elements 3 are in particular trackless in order to be able tomove at right-angles within the parking area, and can be remotelycontrolled or autonomously moved, wherein appropriate sensors recogniseobstacles and control the transport elements. However, the mobility ofthe transport elements 3 is only slightly less when they are trackbound, as in this case also, right-angled as well as longitudinalmovements of the transport elements 3 released from the wheel supportingelements 4 are possible, when corresponding guides are configured in thefloor.

There is a store of wheel supporting elements 4 in a hand-over station1', wherein a vehicle 6 arriving drives onto four of these wheelsupporting elements. For definitive positioning, the wheel supportingelements are provided with supporting troughs 41 which are formed by aheight adjustable base plate 42. Each two wheel supporting elements 4are received by one transport element 3, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thetransport elements are smaller in width than the smallest wheelbase ofany vehicle which can be parked in the building, and are provided withlaterally moveable strip-shaped connecting elements 27. Each transportelement 3 comprises a chassis 8 and a frame 30 arranged in a heightadjustable manner on the chassis 8, on which frame drive rods 26 andhydraulic pushing out elements 28. 29 for the connecting elements 27 aremounted.

After the connecting elements 27 are pushed out as far as the stop 40'on the wheel supporting elements 4 weighed down by the vehicle 6, thelifting device 31, 32, which is also hydraulic, is actuated, by means ofwhich the frame 30 is lifted, wherein the connecting elements 27 engageover pendent segments 40 of the wheel supporting elements 4, andconsequently raise the automotive vehicle 6 (FIG. 3, right-hand side).At the parking place 2 the frame 30 and the connecting elements 27 arelowered again, wherein the connecting elements 27 are released from thependent segments 40, and after withdrawal of the connecting elements 27,the transport elements 3 move away, so that they can be used for thenext transport means. If a vehicle is brought to the hand-over station,the wheel supporting elements 4 are lowered onto blocks 43 projectingfrom the floor, so that the base plate 42 is lifted and the supportingtrough 41 of each wheel supporting element 4 is levelled (FIG. 4).

A preferred embodiment of a transport element 3 is shown in detail inFIGS. 5 to 8. It comprises a chassis 8 in which four wheels 7 areprovided. Each wheel 7 is rotatably mounted on a bearing block 10, whichis arranged rotatably about a vertical axis by means of bearings 45, ina wheel housing 9, which is fixed to the chassis 8. The bearing block 10carries, on its top side, rollers 17 which bear a ring 11 in a rotatablemanner, which is provided with internal teeth 12 and external teeth 16.An intermediate gear 13 which is connected to a conical gear 14 engageswith the internal teeth 12. This meshes with a conical gear 15 which isfixed onto the wheel, that is to say the moving roller 7. A driving gear18 of the travelling mechanism engages with the external teeth of thering 11, which mechanism, for example, comprises a common drive motor 20and a flexible drive 19 connected to all the driving gears 18. Thewheels 7 can be turned by means of a rotary drive, which is providedwith a dual-action hydraulic cylinder 23 with piston rods on both sides22, as well as guide rods 24 and coupling rods 25. The guide rods 24 andthe connecting rods 25 are connected to steering pivots 21 projectingabove the ring 17, which are arranged on the rotatably mounted bearingblock 10 of the wheel 7, and preferably form axles of the rollers 17.

The chassis 8 further comprises a hydraulic pump 36, a pressure tank 37and control valves 39, by means of which the two hydraulic liftingdevices 31, 32 and the four hydraulic pushing out devices 28, 29 arealso served. Traction mechanisms 33 are attached to the piston rods 32of the lifting device protruding out of the pressure cylinders 31, eachof which is guided by means of at least one roller 35 mounted in theliftable frame 30 and a roller 34 mounted in the chassis 8, and attachedto the frame 30. The pushing out of the piston rods 32 therefore reducesthe belt loop lengths of the rollers 34, so that the frame risesrelative to the chassis 8 (FIG. 3, right-hand side).

A control means 38 as well as a replaceable accumulator 44, is furtherarranged in each chassis. Instead of the hydraulic drive described forthe pushing out of the connecting elements 27, electric drives can alsobe provided for lifting the frame 30 and turning the wheels 7.

When the transport means is provided with only one transport element 3and two supporting elements, in each case for one pair of wheels, whenthe frame 30 is raised the pushed-out connecting elements 27 each engagefrom below with a pendent segment formed by a bridge piece whichconnects the two wheel supporting elements 4 of each pair of wheels. Theconnecting elements 27 are additionally provided with lateral, inparticular hydraulically extending, spacers, which are braced againstthe wheel supporting elements 4 in order to prevent deformation of thebridge piece.

We claim:
 1. Transport device for parking automotive vehicles on a flatparking area of a building, said transport device comprising:at leastone trackless transport element, and, for each automotive vehicle, atleast two supporting means separable from the transport element at aparking place and engageable by said trackless transport element,whereby when said transport elements engage said supporting elementssaid automotive vehicles can be moved.
 2. Transport device according toclaim 1, wherein said transport element is provided withheight-adjustable connecting elements, and wherein each of saidsupporting means comprises at least one upper segment engaged from belowby one of said connecting elements, said supporting means beingseparable from the transport element by lowering said connectingelements.
 3. Transport device according to claim 1, wherein each of saidsupporting means comprises two wheel supporting elements.
 4. Transportdevice according to claim 3, wherein each of said wheel supportingelements comprises a supporting trough.
 5. Transport device according toclaim 4, wherein said supporting trough is provided with aheight-adjustable central area.
 6. Transport device according to claim1, wherein said transport element comprises a chassis movable in atleast two directions.
 7. Transport device according to claim 6, whereinsaid chassis is movable in an arc of a circle.
 8. Transport deviceaccording to claim 6, wherein said chassis comprises wheels, at leasttwo wheels being turnable by at least 90°.
 9. Transport device accordingto claim 8, wherein said wheels are provided with a common drive. 10.Transport device according to claim 9, wherein said common drivecomprises a hydraulic drive and coupling rods between said wheels. 11.Transport device according to claim 2, wherein each of said connectingelements is provided with a hydraulic lifting drive.
 12. Transportdevice for parking automotive vehicles on a flat parking area of abuilding, said transport device comprising:at least one tracklesstransport element, and, for each automotive vehicle, at least twosupporting means separable from the transport element at a parking placeand engageable by said trackless transport element, said transportelement being provided with height-adjustable connecting elementscontrolled by a hydraulic lifting drive, and wherein each of saidsupporting means comprises at least one upper segment engaged from belowby one of said connecting elements, said supporting means beingseparable from the transport element by lowering said connectingelements, said lifting drive including a hydraulic unit actinghorizontally in the transport element and a traction mechanismconverting the horizontal action of the hydraulic unit into a verticalmovement of the connecting element, said traction mechanism being guidedover at least one guide roller, whereby when said transport elementsengage said supporting elements, said automotive vehicles can be moved.13. Transport device for parking automotive vehicles on a flat parkingarea of a building, said transport device comprising:at least twomovable transport elements, and, for each automotive vehicle, wheelsupporting elements, two of said wheel supporting elements beingseparable from each of said transport elements at a parking place andengageable by each of said transport elements, whereby when saidtransport elements engage said supporting elements, said automotivevehicles can be moved.
 14. Transport device according to claim 13,wherein each of said transport elements is provided with twoheight-adjustable connecting elements, and wherein each of said wheelsupporting elements comprises an upper segment engaged with from belowby one of said connecting elements, said wheel supporting elements beingseparable by lowering said connecting elements.
 15. Transport deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein each of said wheel supporting elementscomprises a supporting trough.
 16. Transport device according to claim15, wherein said supporting trough is provided with a height-adjustablecentral area.
 17. Transport device according to claim 13, wherein saidtransport element comprises a chassis movable in at least twodirections.
 18. Transport device according to claim 17, wherein saidchassis is movable in an arc of a circle.
 19. Transport device accordingto claim 17, wherein said chassis comprises wheels, at least two wheelsbeing turnable by at least 90°.
 20. Transport device according to claim19, wherein said wheels are provided with a common drive.
 21. Transportdevice according to claim 20, wherein said common drive comprises ahydraulic drive and coupling rods between said wheels.
 22. Transportdevice according to claim 14, wherein each of said connecting elementsis provided with a hydraulic lifting drive.
 23. Transport deviceaccording to claim 22, wherein said lifting drive comprises a hydraulicunit acting horizontally in the transport element and a tractionmechanism for converting the horizontal action of the hydraulic unitinto a vertical movement of the connecting element, said tractionmechanism being guided over at least one guide roller.
 24. Method forparking automotive vehicles on a flat parking area of a buildingcomprising the steps of:loading an automotive vehicle onto a transportdevice which includes a trackless transport element and two supportingmeans separable from the transport element at a parking place, conveyingthe automotive vehicle to the parking place, and parking the automotivevehicle in a parking space without predetermined boundaries at apredetermined distance apart from other parked vehicles independent ofthe size of the vehicles.
 25. Method for parking automotive vehicles ona flat parking area of a building comprising the steps of:loading eachautomotive vehicle onto a transport device which includes two transportelements and four wheel supporting elements separable from the twotransport elements at a parking place, conveying the automative vehicleto the parking place, and parking the automotive vehicle on theseparated wheel supporting elements at a predetermined distance apartfrom another parked vehicle.